Editing The Avengers (TV series) (section)

==Spin-offs==
===Novels===
A number of original novels based on the series were published in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://deadduck.theavengers.tv/bookshel.htm|title=The Avengers - Official Novelisations|work=theavengers.tv}}</ref> The first by Douglas Enefer, published by Consul Books, was the only 60s novel to feature Cathy Gale. Panther Books published four novels written by John Garforth featuring Emma Peel in the United Kingdom in 1967; Berkley Medallion Books reprinted these in the United States. After Panther stopped publishing ''Avengers'' novels in the UK, Berkley Medallion continued publishing original novels of their own: one featuring Peel and four featuring Tara King for the US market only; three by [[Keith Laumer]] in 1968; and two by Norman Daniels 1968/69. Berkley Medallion later re-printed all nine novels with new covers that featured photos of both Rigg and Thorson, regardless of which ''Avengers'' girl appeared in the novel. The two novels published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1965/66 were co-written by Patrick Macnee, making him one of the first actors to write licensed spin-off fiction of their own shows. The Macnee novels, ''Deadline'' and ''Dead Duck'', were reprinted in the UK by [[Titan Books]] in standard paperback in 1994 and in France by Huitieme Art (1995 & 1996). They were also published in the US for the first time by TV Books in 1998. Titan reissued the books in [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]] format (with the same covers) to coincide with the release of the [[The Avengers (1998 film)|1998 feature film]].

The 1990 novel ''Too Many Targets'' by [[John Peel (writer)|John Peel]] featured all of Steed's partners (David Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King) with the exception of Venus Smith and Dr Martin King.

* ''The Avengers'', Douglas Enefer, 1963
* ''Deadline'', Patrick Macnee and Peter Leslie, 1965
* ''Dead Duck'', Macnee and Leslie, 1966
* ''The Floating Game'', John Garforth, 1967
* ''The Laugh Was on Lazarus'', Garforth, 1967
* ''The Passing of Gloria Munday'', Garforth, 1967
* ''Heil Harris!'', Garforth, 1967
* ''The Afrit Affair'', Keith Laumer, 1968
* ''The Drowned Queen'', Laumer, 1968
* ''The Gold Bomb'', Laumer, 1968
* ''The Magnetic Man'', Norman A. Daniels, 1968
* ''Moon Express'', Daniels, 1969
* ''John Steed: An Authorized Biography Vol. 1: Jealous in Honour'', [[Tim Heald]], 1977 (UK release only)
* A four volume fan fiction set produced in Australia but authorised.
** Vol. 1 ''The Weather Merchants'' (1989) by Dave Rogers and Barlow; Rogers had previously written several non-fiction books about the series
** Vol. 2 ''The Monster of the Moor'' (1990) by Barlow
** Vol. 3 ''Before the Mast'' (1991). A Tara short story, produced only in photocopied supplement format
** Vol. 4 (1994). Contains two stories, ''Moonlight Express'' and ''The Spoilsports''.
* ''Too Many Targets'', [[John Peel (writer)|John Peel]] and Rogers, 1990.
* ''The Avengers'', Julie Kaewert, 1998 (film novelisation)

A [[short story]] by Peter Leslie entitled "What's a Ghoul Like You Doing in a Place Like This?" appeared in ''The Television Crimebusters Omnibus'', a hardback anthology edited by [[Peter Haining (author)|Peter Haining]], first published by Orion in 1994 (this Steed and Tara story first appeared in the 1969 UK Avengers annual, from Atlas publications). Both of the Macnee/Leslie UK paperback titles were translated and published in Portugal in 1967 as ''Os Vingadores: O Dia Depois De Amanha'' (''Deadline'') and ''Os Vingadores: O Pato Morto'' (''Dead Duck'') by Deaga. All four UK John Garforth Panther book paperbacks were translated and published by Roman in France (1967), a paperback omnibus edition was published in 1998 by Fleuve Noir. Three of the Garforth paperbacks were also translated and published by Heyne in Germany (1967/68) (''Heil Harris!'' was not translated for obvious reasons) and a German hardback omnibus edition of the three titles was published by Lichtenberg (1968), reprinted in paperback by Heyne in 1998. All four titles were also translated and published in the Netherlands by Bruna (1967) and in Chile by Zig-Zag (1968). {{Citation needed|date=August 2014}}

===Comics===
The first UK Avengers comic strips,<ref>[http://wingedavenger.theavengers.tv/index.htm The Avengers Illustrated comic strip info]. Retrieved 5 November 2010</ref> featuring Steed and [[Cathy Gale]], first appeared in regional TV listings magazines ''Look Westward'' and ''The Viewer'' from 14 September 1963 to 9 May 1964 (and later in 1964, re-printed in the ''[[Manchester Evening News]]''). This run consisted of four serials.

Steed and Mrs Peel comic strips began in [[Polystyle Publications]]' ''[[TV Comic]]'' in issue #720, dated 2 October 1965, beginning after the TV debut of [[Emma Peel]], and ran until issue #771, dated 24 September 1966 – this run consisted of 10 serials plus one 4-page one-off in ''TV Comic Holiday Special'' (June 1966). At that point the rights were sold to publishers [[D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd]], where the next version of the strip appeared in issue #199, dated 10 December 1966, of ''Diana'' the popular paper for girls. Its run ended in issue #224, dated 2 June 1967, with art by Emilio Frejo and Juan Gonzalez Alacrojo – this run consisted of 8 serials.

Earlier, ''The Growing Up of Emma Peel'' comic strip had appeared in ''June and Schoolfriend'' comic from issue #52, dated 29 January 1966, to issue #63, dated 16 April 1966. This had featured the adventures of 14-year-old Emma Knight and was run concurrent with the ''TV Comic'' strip and consisted of 11 instalments.

The Avengers returned to ''TV Comic'' issue #877, dated 5 October 1968, just after [[Tara King]] debuted on TV, the Tara & Steed strip continued until issue #1077, dated 5 August 1972. This run consisted of 28 serials plus a 4-page one-off in ''TV Comic Holiday Special 1972''. Also in 1966 [[Thorpe & Porter]] published a 68-page Avengers comic featuring Steed & Peel, with original art by [[Mick Anglo]] and [[Mick Austin]] — this consisted of four 16-page stories.

A few ''Avengers''-related comic books have been published in the USA. They are not named ''The Avengers'' because the rights to the names "Avengers" and "New Avengers" are held by [[Marvel Comics]] for use with their [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]] comics depicting a team of superheroes called ''The Avengers''. [[Gold Key Comics]] published one issue of ''John Steed Emma Peel'' in 1968 (subtitled ''The Avengers'' on the [[Indicia (publishing)|Indicia]] page), which included two newly coloured and reformatted ''The Avengers'' strips from ''TV Comic''.

A 3-issue limited entitled ''Steed and Mrs. Peel'' appeared in 1990–1992 under the [[Acme Press]]/[[Eclipse Comics]] imprint; it featured a three-part story, "The Golden Game" in issues #1–3, by [[Grant Morrison]] and a two-part story, in issues #2 & #3, "A Deadly Rainbow" by Anne Caulfield; both strips had art by [[Ian Gibson (artist)|Ian Gibson]]. [[Boom! Studios]] reprinted this series in six issues in early 2012, and later published a new ongoing series written by [[Mark Waid]] and Caleb Monroe which lasted 12 issues. Boom! subsequently announced a six-issue follow-up series, ''Steed and Mrs. Peel: We're Needed'', which was launched in the summer of 2014.<ref>[http://www.newsarama.com/20920-boom-studios-july-2014-solicitations.html "Boom Studios! July 2014 solicitations"], Newsarama.com, 23 April 2014. Accessed 5 July 2014.</ref> Despite issue #1 showing "1 of 6", only 3 issues were produced ("2 of 3" and "3 of 3" showing on the other issues, with the cover for issue #3 being the one originally planned for issue #4 which was planned to be the start of another 3-issue story).

In the UK, where hardback annuals are traditionally produced for sale at Christmas, The Avengers first appeared in ''TV Crimebusters Annual'' (1962) and featured a 7-page comic strip with Dr David Keel titled ''The Drug Pedlar''. Atlas Publications produced three ''The Avengers'' hardback Annuals for 1967, 1968 and 1969, which also featured original Avengers comic strips featuring Steed, Emma Peel, and Tara King, as well as text stories.

The ''TV Comic'' Avengers strips and the 1966 Avengers comic and a few comic strips from the Annuals have been translated and published in Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Chile.

The Avengers also have made a number of [[cameo appearance]]s in comics over the years:
* In 1991's ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' #173, [[Gary Russell]] and artists [[Mike Collins (comics)|Mike Collins]] and Steve Pini show [[Captain Britain]] about to hit John Steed when Emma Peel shows up behind him.
* Emma Peel and John Steed were seen among the crowd in a bar scene in ''[[Kingdom Come (comics)|Kingdom Come]]'' #2 (1996) by [[Mark Waid]] and [[Alex Ross]].
* Emma Peel and John Steed appeared unnamed in ''[[Superman (comic book)|Superman]]'' #13 (1988) by [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]] and [[Karl Kesel]].
* A crossover series, ''[[Batman '66]] Meets Steed and Mrs. Peel'', was launched in June 2016 as a joint effort between [[DC Comics]] and [[Boom! Studios]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://comicsalliance.com/batman-66-meets-steed-and-mrs-peel |title=Batman '66 Meets Steed And Mrs. Peel in New Crossover |access-date=12 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616165756/http://comicsalliance.com/batman-66-meets-steed-and-mrs-peel/ |archive-date=16 June 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2016/06/08/batman-66-meets-steed-and-mrs-peel-ian-edginton-and-matthew-dow-smith-unite-two-tv|title=Batman '66 Meets Steed and Mrs. Peel: Ian Edginton and Matthew Dow Smith Unite Two TV Icons|date=8 June 2016|access-date=12 June 2016}}</ref>
* [[Alan Moore]]'s ''[[League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' is littered with oblique references to events and characters in ''The Avengers'', with three unnamed characters that are clearly Purdey, Tara and Emma appearing at the end of the book "Century: 2009".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jessnevins.com/annotations/2009annotations.html|title=Century 2009 Annotations|website=Jessnevins.com|access-date=10 November 2016}}</ref>

===Stage play===
A stage adaptation was produced in Britain in 1971, written by TV series veterans Brian Clemens and [[Terence Feely]], and directed by [[Leslie Phillips]]. It starred [[Simon Oates]] as Steed, [[Sue Lloyd]] as new partner Hannah Wild, and [[Kate O'Mara]] as villainess Madame Gerda. All three had guest roles in the original series.<ref>Rogers, Dave. The Complete Avengers: The Full Story of Britain's Smash Crime-Fighting Team!. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1989, p. 215</ref>

A character named Hana Wilde (played by [[Charlotte Rampling]]) had essentially acted as Steed's partner in series five's "The Superlative Seven", an episode in which Emma Peel appears only briefly. According to John Peel in his overview of "The Superlative Seven", Charlotte Rampling was rumoured to be grooming up to replace Diana Rigg in this story, but nothing ever came of that".<ref name="PeelJohnEmmaLastYearp29">Peel, John. "Season Five Episode Guide". ''The Avengers Files: Emma's Last Year''. Psi Fi Movie Press, Inc. Canoga Park, CA, 1985, p 29.</ref>

===Radio series===
{{redirect-distinguish|The Avengers (radio series)|The Avenger (radio program)}}
{{further|List of The Avengers (radio series) episodes}}
A radio series<ref>{{cite web|url=http://declassified.theavengers.tv/radio_main.htm|title=The Avengers Declassified: The Radio Series|work=theavengers.tv|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724023813/http://declassified.theavengers.tv/radio_main.htm|archive-date=24 July 2010}}</ref> was transmitted between 6 December 1971 and 28 December 1973 on [[Springbok Radio]], the English-language service of the [[South Africa]]n Broadcasting Corporation ([[SABC]]); it was recorded at Sonovision Studios in [[Johannesburg]], produced by Dave Gooden, the original TV scripts were adapted and directed by [[Tony Jay]], for the first six months and Dennis Folbigge for the remainder. South Africa did not have national television until 1976.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100808203011/http://www.southafrica.info/about/media/satv.htm "South Africa's television channels"], International Marketing Council of South Africa, 16 October 2006</ref> The episodes were adapted from both Emma Peel and Tara King episodes (with Tara changed to Emma Peel throughout). The Avengers were played by two British expatriate actors, Donald Monat as Steed and Diane Appleby as Mrs Peel, with Hugh Rouse as the tongue-in-cheek narrator. The stories were adapted into five-episode serials under Tony Jay and six- and seven-episode serials under Dennis Folbigge, of approximately 15 minutes each (including adverts) and stripped across the week, Monday-Friday, on Springbok Radio.

Currently only 19 complete serials survive, all from [[reel-to-reel]] off-air recordings made by John Wright in 1972. Also, the first three episodes of a remake of ''Escape in Time'' currently exist. Episodes 1 and 2 are copies from the original Sonovision tapes, and episode 3 is from an off-air recording, on audio cassette, made by Barbara Peterson; the rest of this serial is still missing. These episodes are also known to have been transmitted in New York on station [[WBAI]] on 99.5 FM, from 1977 to the early 1990s, and are currently being transmitted on Miami station [[WRGP]] on early Monday mornings.

Copies from the original off-air recordings have been restored by Alan and Alys Hayes, and can be heard at their "The Avengers Declassified" website and its sister website "Avengers on the Radio".

Many more serials were broadcast during its two-year run on South African radio; it is thought 83 serials were made and transmitted, but no other episodes are known to exist at present.

===Film===
{{Main|The Avengers (1998 film)}}
Plans for a [[film adaptation|feature-length adaptation]] based upon the series circulated during the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s, with [[Mel Gibson]] at one point being considered a front-runner for the role of Steed. Ultimately, the 1998 film, starring [[Uma Thurman]] as Emma Peel and [[Ralph Fiennes]] as John Steed, with [[Sean Connery]] as the villain, received [[List of films considered the worst#The Avengers (1998)|extremely negative reviews from critics]] and fans, and is a [[box office bomb|notorious commercial failure]].

===Audio===
In June 2013, [[Big Finish Productions]] signed a license with [[StudioCanal]] to produce full-cast audio productions of 12 lost first-season episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/the-avengers-licenced|title=The Avengers Licensed! - News - Big Finish|website=Bigfinish.com}}</ref> The main cast includes [[Julian Wadham]] as Steed, [[Anthony Howell (actor)|Anthony Howell]] as Dr David Keel, and Lucy Briggs-Owen as Carol Wilson. The stories are adapted for audio by John Dorney.

In January 2014, Volume One, containing the first four stories, ("Hot Snow", "Brought to Book", "Square Root of Evil" and "One for the Mortuary") was released. Volume Two, containing the next four stories, ("Ashes of Roses", "Please Don't Feed the Animals", "The Radioactive Man" and "Dance with Death") was released in July 2014. Volume Three, containing the next four stories, was released in January 2015.<ref name="bigfinish.com"/>

In March 2014, Big Finish extended the audio recreation programme to include all 26 season one episodes, including the then-two extant stories. A total of seven boxed sets were released.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/the-avengers---lost-episodes-to-complete-season-one|title=The Avengers - Lost Episodes to Complete Season One - News - Big Finish|website=Bigfinish.com}}</ref>

===Proposed reboots===
In a 2023 interview, [[Charlie Higson]] said he and [[Paul Whitehouse]] had been offered an opportunity to helm a new series, but had declined.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-avengers-revival-charlie-higson-exclusive-newsupdate/|title=Charlie Higson, Paul Whitehouse turned down chance to revive The Avengers|website=Radio Times}}</ref>

On 18 January 2024, it was announced that Mickey Down and Konrad Kay were developing a reboot for [[StudioCanal]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://deadline.com/2024/01/the-avengers-reboot-studiocanal-industry-writers-mickey-down-konrad-kay-1235795963/ | title='The Avengers' Reboot in Works at StudioCanal, Wall to Wall; 'Industry' Duo Mickey Down & Konrad Kay Writing | date=18 January 2024 }}</ref>